Tooth-loss count: Hanny - 3; Doodle - 1; Boo - 2

We are right in the middle of a massive tooth-loss around here. With three kiddos the same age, it's bound to happen that way, I guess. It seems like there's always somebody who has either just lost a tooth or has a loose one. Boo just lost her second one on Labor Day, and Hanny & Doodle each have a tooth that is hanging by a thread. I should tell you (or maybe I shouldn't even admit it) that of all the things I've had to see in their short lives - the many tests, changing their Mic-Key buttons, re-dressing their g-tube holes, etc. - the thing that grosses me out the most is those wiggly, wobbly, barely-hanging-on teeth. Oh yeah, when their buttons would accidentally be pulled out after a feeding and we had all their stomach contents on their shirts and a gaping hole into their abdomens, that I could handle. Watching their teeth hang sideways in their mouths gives me the creeps. But I digress... Hanny was wiggling her tooth (not with her fingers - it's now loose enough to wiggle with her lips) this evening and told me, "Mama, I can wiggle my tooth and make it feel like my heart beeping."

They're enjoying school, although by this time of the week they're looking forward to having the weekend off. They got their first book order books last week and are having so much fun reading them. We got one set of 5 early reader books that they can read now. It's so much fun to have them be able to read to us now. We still spend part of each day reading to them, but it's nice to see them developing into readers already. I was inconspicuously watching/listening to them this afternoon reading to their animals. After reading the books they could actually read they moved on to books that they could pick a few words out of but make up the story as they went. I peeked at Doodle just in time to see her holding the book in front of her and showing the pictures to her stuffed animals. Too cute! I hope the develop the same love of books that I have. I love to curl up with a good book and some hot tea. Sounds like a good thing to do right now...

Mama, we had a Subs-ma-toot!

Out of the mouths of babes... The girls had a sub at school today and proclaimed the above to Dad when he got home. We thought it was cute! Also, while I was finishing my shower, the girls were performing their nursery rhymes from Grandparents' Day for Dad. I overheard them do the first couple and then tell Dad, "You can be the grandparent." Poor guy! They keep us humble...and laughing!

Expect the Unexpected

Good news! We had another tear-free day, although there was a moment when I was concerned that our streak was broken. Doodle was a little more reluctant this morning than she was yesterday but she pushed through it beautifully! I'm so proud of them! It was not a morning without catastrophes, though. I was impressed at how smoothly everything was going this morning when they were eating their breakfast and I was getting ready to dry my hair at 7:15. It was at that point I heard the splash of chocolate milk being splattered all over the dining room floor. Let me just say how thankful I am that we no longer have carpet in there. It was a mess. On the plus side, I did have the kitchen and dining room floors mopped by 7:30 this morning. We had to change Doodle's clothes as well, but we managed to get everything done and still look ready for the day on time. I've come to realize that the only normal thing around here is that no two days are alike. We are forced to be flexible and patient. Sometimes we think we know what to expect but are quickly proven wrong. So rather than get upset about it, I think I'll thank God for blessing me with a variety of experiences. Wouldn't life be boring if every day presented the same obstacles? How would I ever learn to adapt? Any situation can be positive or negative, depending on how I choose to see it. I think I'll stick to the positive and wait patiently to see what's next. :)

Ahh...Monday

Here we go with another week. Hopefully it'll be a good one! We actually ended up with two tear-free days last week and another one this morning. Things are definitely looking up! The girls were very excited Friday because it was Grandparents' Day at school. They couldn't wait to be Little Bo Peep sheep in front of Meme & Papa & Grandma & Grandpa. I picked them up at the usual time then took them back at 2:00 so they could take part in the fun at 2:30. Before the grandparents were divided up to go with the classes they were all (about 300 of them, they think) in the multi-purpose room right outside the girls' classroom. All the classes stood out there while the principal made a few remarks. I was standing just inside their classroom door and really enjoyed watching all those grandparents as the kids walked out. I saw several people who I could just tell had a special relationship with their grandchildren by the way their faces lit up when the kids walked out. Several of those papas were waving & making silly faces. What better sign of love is that than to lose all sense of looking silly just to make that angel laugh?! It was a very nice afternoon.

I have to say not much else has gone on around here lately. I went shopping yesterday and found some new jeans & khaki pants. This whole weight-loss thing has been great, but having such a limited wardrobe does get a little old. On the plus side, I'm officially down to a size 8 jeans. I never ever thought I'd see the day when I could wear a single-digit size. It's a nice feeling, to put it mildly. :)

Politics?

Okay, so I never dreamed there would come a day when I had a strong political opinion. I certainly never dreamed that I, pretty conservative (not politically, just by actions & words) from head to toe, would be leaning almost sideways to the left just to distance myself from the right. The upcoming election interests me more than it ever has before. While I have always voted before, I always felt like I was voting for the lesser of two evils. This might be true this time as well, but never before have I felt like the greater of the evils was so frighteningly great. So here it is: I'm an Obama supporter. No, I'm not a liberal freak. But the prospect of having the Republican party in the presidency for another four years scares the snot out of me. And even scarier is the prospect that the so-called "hockey mom" could be the next VP with the man who decided she was his best possible running mate as the President. I am still offended that anyone would think that just because I'm a woman I would forego all intelligence and vote for someone based only on the fact that they share the same plumbing. Um, no. Nope. I'm a conservative white woman who is actually concerned about the issues. Even better, I am a stay at home mom who can actually make an intelligent decision based on the issues. I don't identify with Sarah Palin. I don't identify with someone who is willing to drag her children through the ringer for her own gain. I don't identify with her at all. While I didn't see all of the speeches from last night, I saw enough to form the opinion that there was no talk of issues. I didn't hear anything mentioned about what the McCain/Palin ticket plans to do to improve the economy or anything else. What I did hear was their non-stop digs at their opponents. I heard sarcasm and hatefulness. Is this a fair demonstration of what conservative people are really like? Not me. Does the religious right not want someone who is at least attempting to live a Christ-like life? These are the people who are supposedly so big on family values? I just don't see it.

A Taste of Fall

I love Fall! I love the cool air. I love the cloudy days. I love the energy I draw from days like this. Today is an absolutely ideal day as far as I'm concerned. It's cloudy, 62 degrees, and it's been sprinkling off and on all morning. This is the breath of fresh air I needed today. Even though my allergies have been off the charts this morning, I have the house opened up to enjoy the nice cool air. It's almost chilly in here. I could easily be wearing a long-sleeved shirt with my jeans. Ah - life is good! :) We had an average day going to school today. Average, in that Hope cried. Although I have to admit that yesterday was MUCH worse; Hope cried for an hour before we even left for school. Today she didn't begin crying until we got there. I guess that's progress. I have thoroughly enjoyed my morning, though. I came home and started the first of four loads of laundry, stirred up a double batch of peanut butter cookies (the girls like to have cookies in the freezer for snacks), made bread dough that is in the fridge for now. I'll make vegetable soup with some homemade noodles this afternoon and bake the bread so we can have it hot with our soup. Is your mouth watering yet?! This is what I wait for all Summer. I endure the heat all the while looking forward to the cool, refreshing air of Fall. I'll be thanking God all day today for giving me a taste of Fall. Granted, it probably won't last too long, but at least it will hold me over until every day is this way. Bring on the day!

I Can't Believe We're Watching This!!!

Much to my dismay, Doodle decided to watch a Barney video this afternoon. Yes, Barney. Barney, who I was just sure had made his final exit from our DVD player last spring. She must be getting sick or something. Actually, I think that might be the case. Boo has had some very explosive (to put it somewhat less disgustingly) sneezes today. It's probably just the beginning of the next cold. After all, we did make it through a full week of school. How could I possibly expect to make it two weeks?! Doodle has also been a little too quiet this afternoon. This mama's intuition knows there's something not quite right. So Barney's back. Will he ever leave? Probably not until I get up the nerve to destroy the DVD's. And I don't imagine that will happen anytime soon. There's something comforting about the idea that my growing-up-too-fast girls still have enough of the little girl left in them to not gag at the idea of watching Barney. I guess that's why I don't get too upset when Barney makes his appearance again after months of being tucked away behind all the other movies.

We had a very nice weekend. We made our first trip down to visit the grandparents since school started. Papa had found 3 kittens in his shed, so the girls spent both days this weekend catching, holding, petting and fawning over those kittens. That's not totally true. They were very attached to Pokey and Snowball, but Penny didn't really spend much time in their good graces. Penny was too much of a Mama's-Kitty. She/He (I'm not really sure which) was not at all content to be held and only wanted her/his mother. On the plus side, Doodle wasn't terribly interested in holding any of the kittens after the one she was holding moved its paw (after which she promptly tossed it to the ground). It's a good thing, I'm sure, that we only had two girls interested in holding kittens and only two kittens interested in being held. We got to enjoy some time with our family and let the girls make use of the good country air. They also made use of the country mud. They played in the yard after it had been flooded Friday and looked like mud-balls by the time I made them head to the house. They were so filthy, in fact, that they had to strip down and be hosed off before I even allowed them into the house. They had fun. It was worth washing their clothes three times in a row. No, really, it was worth it to see them have so much good dirty fun.

Today we got to enjoy some time with Uncle Jim & cousins Jonathan & Kerri. The girls love being able to play with someone new. They even played Pretty Pretty Princess with Jim & Jonathan. Yes, I took pictures. Yes, I'm willing to use them for blackmail. Kerri also got the joy of holding Addie as she wiggled her second loose tooth out of her mouth. Hopefully the tooth fairy can remember there's work for her to do tonight!

All in all we've had a nice three days and are not totally ready to get back into the swing of things. Well, I'm ready, but nobody else really seems to be. I'm afraid it's not going to be a totally normal week as they're just not acting quite like themselves today. It looks like we're going to be making use of the Kleenexes again this week. Such is life...